Ritual is a very misunderstood entity. When most people think of ritual, they picture a very intricate, ornate, long, and intense ceremony. Ritual can be that, but it's most often not. Humans are ritualistic beings (not unlike cats), and do certain things every single day in order to make progress within that day or evening. It helps to bring meaning and order into daily living. Despite its mundane nature, it's a form of ritual. So between these two extremes, we see that ritual is done to bring meaning, purpose, and order to something. It can be very elaborate, or simple, as long as it works for you.

The following is one of my favorite explanations of ritual:

"It is believed that the human need for some kind of formal, often public acknowledgment of significant events is one of the fundamental forces of our development as social beings. At the same time, ritual allows us to transcend our individual selves to gain a sense of participation with the greater environment of the forces controlling our singular and communal destinies." - John T. Nelson, A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine

Ritual is also "a fusion of the powers believed to be inherent in the persons, objects, relationships, events, and histories which are represented by the ceremony itself." ­- Victor Turner

Types of Ritual

-seasonal- honoring a specific moment of the climatic cycle

-contingent- personal transition/crisis

-divinatory- revelation/divination

-protective- ensures health/safety

-ancestral- honoring the deceased

Three Rituals To Draw Down The Moon (1999)

These rituals are simple and elegant. The focus for these rituals is the idea that the three aspects of womanhood (maiden, mother, crone) are present in the phases of the moon. The moon is an important subtle influence on our lives, and it truly does empower oneself to mark its travel through the sky.

All of the following are incantations and poems written and copyrighted by Tempest. Please feel free to copy these into your grimoire, but please do not reproduce them in printed or public form without contacting me first for permission.

Draw Down The Moon

And out of the darkness the Goddess created Her children. She took of Herself and hung the sun in the sky to warm them when She could not, and the moon to protect them at night, watching their dreams.

The following is a set of incantations and a poem to be used in ritual. To make a more complete ritual, invoke the elements as they are suggested in parentheses.